Apple iPad, Samsung Galaxy Tab Lead Tablet Choices for Consumers

by Clint Boulton

Holiday season 2010 was supposed to be a shopping boom for smartphones and netbook computers based on Google's Chrome Operating System. The smartphone outlook is bright, as Apple's iPhone 4 is the best of its kind. Meanwhile, Android smartphones took off like a rocket, starting with the Motorola Droid last November and continuing on with the HTC Droid, Incredible HTC Evo 4G, Motorola Droid X and the Samsung Galaxy S devices. The netbook boom didn't happen. While smartphones rocketed, Apple went and upset that scheme in April by launching the iPad, the tablet computer that took the mobile computing world by storm. The machines sold millions of units, forcing Samsung, Archos, ViewSonic and others to crank up their touch-screen building engines. At the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco earlier this month, tablets were everywhere. Also slowing the netbook roll is the fact that Chrome OS has been delayed for reasons unknown. So instead of showcasing netbooks this holiday season, eWEEK believes it is prudent to celebrate the devices that have made such an impact on the market. Here, eWEEK highlights the iPad, Galaxy Tab and some other choices to give tablet-curious consumers an idea of what they might get with the different machines.